Business Directories

DHA performs free surgery for Afghan child

Dubai, February 12, 2013

Dubai Health Authority (DHA) performed a complex cardiac surgery free of cost as part of the Nabadat initiative, a joint humanitarian initiative launched with Mohammad Bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment to provide free medical assistance to children with congenital diseases.

The complex surgery was successfully done by the DHA cardiologists on a seven year-old Afghani expatriate free of cost.

Since, the inception of this programme in 2007, more than 300 children have benefited. Of the many surgeries performed by cardiologists, one of the most complicated cases was that of this Afghan child, said a statement from DHA.

“She was a cyanotic baby and suffered from breathing difficulties. Since her right ventricle was poorly developed, it could not receive deoxygenated blood from the body and pump it to the lungs. In other words, her blood was not getting oxygenated," said Dr Obaid Al Jassim, the head of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

“In 2011, we did the first operation. We diverted the deoxygenated blood from the upper part of the body directly to the lungs. She visited us for regular follow-ups and two weeks ago, we conducted the second operation known as Fontan which helps divert the deoxygenated blood from the lower part of the body to the lungs,” he noted.

Dr Jassim said both the operations were a success and that she was recovering well. “Today, she visited the hospital for her first follow-up post surgery and she is going well,” he stated.

This surgery, he said, was the biggest operation to have been done under Nabadat initiative.

"It would have cost the family around Dh250,000 ($68,046), if done abroad. The complex cardiac surgeries are expensive because of the technology and expertise involved," remarked Dr Jassim.

"Therefore, initiatives like the Nabadat project are helpful to assist those families who cannot bear the cost of such treatment,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service